Ladder and support bracket therefor



A. E. NAMECHE ETAL 3, 0

LADDER AND SUPPORT BRACKET THEREFOR Dec. 30, 1969- 5 Sheets-Shet 1 FiledJune 11,

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INVENTOKS 1969 A. E.VNAMECHE ETAL ,5 0

LADDER AND SUPPORT BRACKET THEREFOR Filed June 11, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2Alfred E. Nameche Walter F. Nor fan INVENTORS and Dec. 30, 1969 A. E.NAMECHE ETAL 3,486,580

LADDER AND SUPPORT BRACKET THEREFOR Filed June 11, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 3Alfred E. Nameche Wa/fer ENorfon 40 V INVENTORS 9 BY n a Mme]:

United States. Patent G 3,486 580 LADDER AND SUPPORT BRACKET THEREFORAlfred E. Nameche, 666 W. Spring 45801, and Walter Norton, 2343 ShawneeBlvd. 45805, both of Lima,

Ohio

Filed June 11, 1968, Ser. No. 736,042 Int. Cl. E06c 7/08, 7/48 US. Cl.182-214 15 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present inventionrelates to a bracket that is adapted to support the upper end of aladder, that is normally leaned against a building for support from apart of the building that will not sustain damage as a result of theweight. There is a provision on the bracket for adapting the buildingengaging portion of the bracket to suit the portion of the buildingengaged by the bracket.

An object of the present invention is to provide a bracket that can beattached to a ladder for supporting the ladder against a building.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a bracket tosupport a ladder from a part of the buildingthat will not be damaged bythe ladder or its weight.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a bracket for aladder that will allow the ladder to be supported from the roof edge orthe facing board of a building so as to not damage guttering, siding orother frangible elements of a building.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an adjustablebracket for attachment to a ladder so that theladder can be supported bya suitable portion of the bracket from the roof edge or the facing boardof a building to prevent damage to the gutter, siding or other frangibleelements of a building.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide anadjustable bracket for attachment to a ladder with portions to beselectively employed: to engage the roof edge of a building or thefacing board of a building to avoid damage to the guttering, siding orother frangible elements of the building or to lean against surfacescapable of supporting the weight of the ladder.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing bad to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 shows the subject invention installed on a ladder and supportedfrom the facing board of a'building.

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the bracket and ladder in their initialposition.

FIGURE 3 is a front view of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a side view similar to FIGURE 1 showing the bumper portionof the bracket engaging a vertical surface of a building.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view along the line 55 of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is an exploded perspective view of the latch mechanism of thedevice.

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURES 1 and 4 showing a modified portionof the bracket adapted to engage the roof edge of the building.

FIGURE 8 is a top plan view of FIGURE 7.

Patented Dec. 30, 1969 ice FIGURE 9 is a sectional view of theattachment portion of the bracket and the spring installed thereon,

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view taken along the line 10-10 in FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 11 is a side view of the bracket with the roof edge engagingportion held in the inoperative position.

Referring now to the drawings the numeral 20 designates the wall of abuilding with a roof 22, facing board 24 and the gutter 26 attachedthereto and a soflitt 28. A conventional ladder 30 is shown supporting ascaffold structure 32 comprising a support 34 and a plank 36. The ladderis shown supported by a bracket generally designated at 38 supportedfrom the facing board 24. By supporting the ladder in such a fashionthere is no danger of cracking or denting the new siding materials, suchas aluminum or vinyl. Further, the ladder does not have to be supportedby leaning against the guttering and thereby crushing it. The bracket 38will be described as a single unit, it being understood that they areusable in pairs, with each pair being identical mirror images of eachother. The bracket 38 is clamped to the ladder by two generally U-shapedplates 40 and 42 held together on the ladder by bolts 44 and 46, passingthrough holes in flanges 48 and 50 on the plates 40 and 42,respectively. Pivotally held be tween the flanges 48 and 50 by bolt 46is a bumper 51 which is intended to be used against vertical surfacesthat can support the weight of the ladder Without damage. The bumper 51comprises a metal foot 52 with a resilient pad 54 attached thereto.

Plate 40, which is orientated on the outside of the rail of the ladderhas an offset portion 56 upon which is mounted the lever arm mechanismof the bracket, Extending through a hole 58 centrally disposed in theoffset portion 56 is a shoulder bolt 60. The bolt 60 has a main shank 62with a diameter slightly smaller than the hole 58 and a head 64 largerthan the hole 58, and an elongated section 66 of reduced diameter andthreads on the end thereof. The bolt 60 is meant to be inserted throughthe hole 58 so that the head 64 abuts the offset portion 56 of theplate. The bolt is then spot welded as at 66 to the portion 56 toprovide a secure mounting for the lever arm mechanism. A cylindricalstud 68 with an internally threaded opening 70 is also attached to theoffset portion of the plate. The stud 68 is mounted below and slightlyoffset from bolt 60 by welding, as at 72. The length of stud 68' and theshank 62 of bolt 60 that projects beyond the surface of offset portion56 of the plate are substantially the same for reasons to be set forthhereinafter. A pin 74 is secured to portion 56 of the plate in closeproximity to bolt 60 for reasons to be set forth hereinafter.

A lever arm 76 with a cylindrical base portion 78 and an arm portion 80attached thereto is meant to be journalled on bolt 60. Base portion 78has a cylindrical opening 82 therethrough of slightly larger diameterthan section 66 of bolt 60' so that the arm 76 will be rotatably mountedon section 66 and abut against shank 62 of the bolt 60. The washer 83and nut 84 retain the arm 76 in the aforementioned position on bolt 60.Attached to the back side of base 78 is a pin 86 which is similar to pin74. There are two detents 88 and 90 cut into the circumference of baseportion 78. The detent 88 is cut counterclockwise approximately 60" fromthe point where arm 80 is tangent to base 78. The detent 90 is cutapproximately from detent 88.

Torsion coil spring 92 has an inner diameter slightly larger than theshank 62 of bolt 60 and is meant to slide over shank 62 and be anchoredonto pin 74 by loop 94. The outer loop 96 of spring 92 is engaged by pin86 on lever 76 thereby imparting counterclockwise rotation of arm 76when the spring 92 is resisted.

Pawl 98 is pivotally mounted on stud 68 with screw 100 passing throughaperture 102 of the pawl and engaging the threads of the stud. The pawlhas a pointed end 104, which because of the placement of stud 68 engagesthe detents 88 and 90 of lever 76 and prevents rotation of the arm. Thepawl has an elongated tapered end 106 to provide leverage to disengagethe pointed end 104 from the detents. The detent 88 is located so thatwhen it is engaged by the pawl the lever 76 will extend beyond theladder in a plane substantially parallel thereto as shown in FIGURE 2.The detent is located so that when it is engaged by the pawl the lever76 will extend back down onto the ladder in a plane substantiallyparallel thereto thereby placing it in an inoperative position so thatthe bumper section 51 can be used or the ladder stored away, see FIGURES4 and 11, respectively.

Extension arms 108 and 110 are provided with spaced apertures withsimilarly spaced apertures on the lever 76 so that either arm 108 or 110can be bolted to the lever 76 by means of bolts 112. The arm 108 isprovided with an upstanding leg portion 114 that is designed to engagethe facing board 24 or other vertical surface of the building when thereis danger of damaging a gutter or siding. FIGURES 2 and 3 show thebracket installed on the ladder and detent 88 engaged by the pawl 98.This extends levers 76 and attached arm 108 beyond the end of the ladderwith leg 114 engaging the facing. The ladder is then lifted upwardly andinwardly which causes leg 114 to firmly engage the facing board andsuspend the ladder therefrom as illustarted in FIGURE 1. This positionof the ladder permits the worker to have easy access to work on thefacing, siding, windows, etc. Also the plurality of spaced apertures onlever 76 and arm 108 permit an adjustment of the ladders suspension fromthe facing to accommodate different sized overhangs. The spring 92 keepsthe lever 76 and arm 108 firmly in contact with the facing board toprevent disengagement thereof.

The arm 110 has a Y-shaped end 116 which is designed to engage the edgeof a roof or other projection on a building. When arm 110 is to be used,pawl 98 is disengaged and lever 76 and arm 110 attached thereto areallowed to rotate counterclockwise until they engage the pawl and itssupporting lug 68. This holds the arm in a substantially perpendicularposition to the ladder. The Y- shape end 116 is then engaged on thebuilding and the ladder set on the ground with the bracket assuming theposition shown in FIGURE 7.

The invention as just described shows how the bracket permits support ofa ladder from substantially any portion of a building that is convenientor necessary by use of the arms 108 or 110, or the bumper 51. Theselective positioning of the ladder allows more versatility in the useof the ladder as well as scaffolds as shown in FIG- URE 1.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A bracket for a ladder comprising: clamp means to secure the bracketto a ladder, a lever pivotally mounted on said clamp means, resilientmeans urging said lever to rotate about its pivot point, stop means toresist said resilient means and maintain said lever in an inoperativeposition, and means to hold the lever in a building engaging position,said clamp means comprising: opposed plates drawn together by bolts toclamp the ladder therebetween, and wall engaging bumper means pivotallysupported on one of said bolts.

2. A bracket for a ladder comprising: clamp means to secure the bracketto a ladder, a lever pivotally mounted on said clamp means, resilientmeans urging said lever to,

rotate about its pivot point, stop means to resist said resilient meansand maintain said lever in an inoperative position, and means to holdthe lever in a building engaging position, said resilient means being atorsion coil spring reacting between the clamp means and the lever, saidlever comprising a cylindrical base portion for said pivotal mounting onsaid clamp means and an arm portion attached and tangent to saidcylindrical base portion.

3. The device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said stop means comprises:a pawl pivoted on said clamp means and a cooperating detent on thecircumference of said cylindrical base portion.

4. The device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said means to hold thelever in a building engaging position comprises: a second detent on thecircumference of said cylindrical base portion.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein the two detents are in substantiallydiametrically opposed relation to each other on the cylindrical baseportion so as to enable a selective maintenance of the lever in eitherof two diametrically opposed orientations.

6. The device of claim 2 including an elongated bolt fixed to said clampmeans and projecting laterally outward therefrom, said bolt including anenlarged diameter inner shank portion and a reduced diameter outer shankportion, said coil spring being received about the inner shank portion,said cylindrical base portion being received about said outer shankportion immediately outward of the coil spring, retainer means affixedto the extreme outer end portion of the bolt for the retention of thecoil spring and the cylindrical base portion thereon, means fixing oneend of said coil spring to the clamp means adjacent the bolt, and meansfixing the second end of said coil spring to said cylindrical baseportion laterally of said bolt whereby the reactant force of said springwill effect a rotation of the cylindrical base portion, and hence thelever, about the bolt.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein said stop means comprises a pawlpivotally mounted on said clamp means in radial alignment with and inoutwardly spaced relation from said cylindrical base portion, saidcylindrical base portion including a cooperating portion thereon forselective cooperation with the pawl upon a swinging movement of the pawlinto engagement therewith, said pawl being selectively moved between aposition engaging the cylindrical base portion and a second positionremote and disengaged therefrom.

8. The device as set forth in claim 5 wherein said arm portion hasattachment means for attaching a further arm with a perpendicular legportion thereto.

9. The device as set forth in claim 8 wherein said attachment means isadjustable.

10. The device as set forth in claim 5 wherein said arm portion hasattachment means for attaching a further arm with a Y-shaped end portionremote from said attachment means.

11. The device of claim 10 wherein said attachment means is adjustable.

12. A bracket for a ladder, said bracket including clamp means forsecuring the bracket to a ladder, a lever, said lever including a baseportion and an arm portion afiixed to and projecting outwardly from saidbase portion, means pivotally mounting said base portion on said clampmeans for a pivotal swinging of the corresponding arm portion, resilientmeans engaged between the clamp means and the lever for biasing saidlever in a rotational path about the means pivotally mounting the baseportion of the lever, and cooperating stop means on said clamp means andthe lever for selectively maintaining said lever in an inoperativeposition and in a building engaging position against the biasing forceof the resilient means.

13. The device of claim 12 wherein said base portion is substantiallycylindrical, and said stop means includes a pawl pivotally mounted onsaid clamp means and paw] engaging portions on the cylindrical baseportion with which the pawl can be selectively engaged, said resilientmeans maintaining the engagement between the pawl and the pawl engagingportions on the cylindrical base portion.

14. The device of claim 13 including a selectively extensible attachmentmounted on said arm portion and terminating in a building engagingconfigured outer end.

15. In combination with a ladder, including a forward building facingside and an opposed outwardly directed side, a pair of support brackets,each bracket including clamp means mounting the bracket on the upperportion of the ladder, an elongated lever pivotally engaged with saidclamp means for movement between a first downwardly directed positionalong and adjacent the opposed side of the ladder and a second forwardlyextending position projecting beyond the forward side of the ladder,means resiliently urging said lever from the first position to thesecond position, and stop means for selectively maintaining said leverin the first position, the second position, and a third intermediateposition wherein the lever is upwardly directed longitudinally along theladder, said lever being movable against the urging force, free of thestop means, between the second and first positions, said stop meansbeing manually releasable for enabling a movement of the lever betweenthe first and second positions, and building engaging means on the outerend of said lever.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,419,065 4/1947 Fowler 182-1072,500,086 3/1950 Mintus 182214 3,072,218 1/1963 Peters 182--2143,115,211 12/1963 Ostrander 182214 FOREIGN PATENTS 862,456 3/ 1961 GreatBritain.

REINALDO P. MACHADO, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 182-111

